"God Our Dad" by Terry Sheldon

I recently had a conversation with my Dad. No, my Heavenly Dad. Does that wording sound strange? Did it take you by surprise? Interesting, isn't it?

Ok maybe you are perfectly comfortable thinking and talking about our God in that way, with that language, but I have to admit I'm not so much. With me, "Heavenly Father" is as close as I get. Maybe it's simply about respect. But I suspect for me, it's more than that.

This all started on my Wallowa Mountains backpacking trip in July. On this particular day I was by myself exploring the other side of a lake. I set my tired body down, and my stuff. I removed my glasses to relax my eyes. I noticed an amazing creek across the way with abundant wildflowers and went to investigate. It was so beautiful and I was quickly lost in my typical wilderness rapture. And you know, when the emotions are in hyper drive, the brain sometimes shuts off. I went back to retrieve my belongings, but left my glasses behind.

Later I returned to get them but they were not where I thought I left them! These were not only my close-up reading glasses, but my sunglasses as well. It was TWO big problems I didn't need with 20 more miles to go on our bright and sunny trip, not to mention an expense upon my return home.

So I reacted in typical fashion - I yelled for God. I perceived Him near because I was in crisis and went LOOKING for Him (just like teenagers, huh?). "God can you PLEASE help me find my glasses?!" No response. Then comes "the pact", right? (I won't tell you what was promised). Still nothing. Then I distinctly heard Him answer "I'm your Dad. I care about you." Soon I found my glasses, but I have not forgotten about the interaction.

As I have since processed this, I've noticed that in all our worship, the emphasis is all towards God (as it should be). But how often do we really feel Him "worship" us back? Ok, likely too strong a word, but can't it sometimes be a bit too easy to avoid intimacy with someone we look up to, by focusing all on them? Or we too easily put ourselves down and diminish our good points? Is it possible that there could be some "false humility" here, by staying on a "formal name basis" with our Heavenly Dad? I'm just poking here, but it has me thinking.

Certainly we have all heard that God is relational, and relational is always a two-way street. I remember the father of the prodigal son running out to not only greet, but hug and kiss his son. Then came the big bash. This is the same son who squandered his father's money, took him for granted, even distain, and attempted to ruin his life and the family name. Money, ego, and social status could have easily come between them both, but the father made sure that didn't happen. He was still Dad, and his son was still his son.

What a powerful picture, and the scriptures are full of so many more.

 

"Love is Spelled TIME" by John Rice

When God calls us away from our daily activities, plans, ambitions and anxious thoughts, and asks us to spend some time with Him, He is really saying, “I want to be with you. What's on your mind? What's on your heart? How are things? I love you.” And He always has something for us…a word of encouragement, a word of direction or instruction, a word of affirmation, a word of correction, or maybe He simply gives us a bit more peace or a time and place to rest.

All other religions have sacred places to go to: a certain mountain, a special river, a particular temple. Only the God of the Bible takes a period of time and makes it holy. The first thing God called “holy” (which really means He set it apart as something special and sacred) is the Sabbath day, a day of rest within which we are to let go of the daily grind and refocus on Him and His goodness to us. On our Sabbaths we are to celebrate the goodness of life and the goodness of our God. As the author Abraham Herschel puts it, “The Sabbath is not just an interlude, it is the climax of living.”

Last Saturday morning 10 of us had a kind of special Sabbath together and with God. After meeting and talking about the day at the Space for God Retreat, we separated into different places to spend some solo time with God. We had expectations for meeting God in a special way but we had no idea what form that might take. In sharing at the end, we discovered that everyone truly had had a special (and very individual) connection with God.

-One person was promised that God would help him find his identity which has been difficult for him to find and accept through his life.

-Another was able to take a self-inventory with God and discern what things were toxic and what things were life-gifts to be grateful for and to encourage.

-Another recognized his need to be more intentional in his choices and to not just go with the flow.

-Another understood Psalm 23 in a new and personal way: that God’s presence always goes before her and she is never alone.

-Another recognized that God was closer to her than her breath. And He focused her eyes on a brief prism of colors in the sky, a kind of spherical rainbow, speaking of love and hope for her.

-Another experienced the cleansing of his imagination and some indescribable emotion which the Lord, he believed, would continue to make understood as he goes on.

-Another person, who normally spends time with God by talking and talking, was encouraged by Him to say nothing and just sit with Him, kind of like an old couple who know each other so well they don't even need to talk to experience closeness.

-Another realized from the verse in Isaiah that “those walking in darkness have seen a great light” inferred that God’s light is always shining brightly around us, but that circumstances or our own lack of awareness cause the darkness that we are walking in. In God’s bright light all other things, all our problems, seem very small in comparison.

-Another saw herself paddling a small rowboat on a very rough and windy ocean, struggling hard but barely able to move. God changed her picture to see herself in a sleek racing craft zipping along in the wind and waves as the Lord himself blew the wind of the Spirit into her sails.

-And yet another heard the repeated statement from God, loud and clear, five times,
"You are my son! You are my son! You are my son! You are my son! You are my son!"

Was there anything extraordinary about these people? Well yes and no: they are extraordinary in the sense that every one of God’s people is extraordinary. But no in that we are all just regular, ordinary, everyday people trying to walk out our faith in God the best ways we know how. What enables us to hear these things is giving God the TIME and SPACE to speak to us. And the good news is…  He does!! I've heard it said that LOVE is really spelled T-I-M-E. Giving time and attention to our friends, our spouses, our children and yes, even to God, is like saying, “I want to make time for you. I want to hear what you have to say. I want to know you better. I love you. “

And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. Genesis 2:3

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 146:10

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:  In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. Isaiah 30:15

"Smooring the Fire" by John Rice

I’ve just read of a very interesting practice in old Ireland and Scotland that I wanted to share. As
you probably know, Ireland and Scotland are very damp and often cold countries. The terrain is
mostly rocky and the weather is harsh much of the year, especially on the islands of the Atlantic
Ocean where storms often drench the land. Before electricity was available to light and heat the
houses there, the Celtic people had a special practice to keep their houses as warm and dry as
possible. It was called “smooring the fire”. Wood was very scarce on these islands and peat
very precious, so if you wanted to stay warm, smooring the fire well was a very essential skill to
develop.

To smoor the fire, the woman of the family would prepare the coals in the hearth for the night by
spreading them out in a circle in three parts and then sprinkling some ashes on top of them to
slow their burning. A little peat was put in the spaces between the three sections. and then a
prayer was said. This was the smooring prayer:

The sacred Three,
to save,
to shield,
to surround
the hearth,
the house,
the household,
this eve,
this night,
Oh! this eve,
this night,
and every night,
each single night.
Amen.

The next morning the woman would add fresh peat and get the fire going full bore for the meals
and for heating the house. Performing this night after night, day after day, week after week,
month after month and even year after year, there were some family fires that were kept
continuously alive for generations. And not only that, but a common practice was that when the
girl of the family got married, her mother would give her as a wedding gift some of the coals
from her fire so that the girl’s family would start their family fire with the same fire that had
burned in her family for generations.

This smooring of the fire in some way reminds me of our faith. The fire that burns in our hearts
as the Spirit of God dwells within us must be tended carefully if we want it to continue burning
brightly. Through difficult circumstances or neglect or distraction our fires can go dim, barely
burning, which dims our light and can’t keep us very warm. The gifts God has given us can also
burn brightly or dimly according to our awareness and attention to them. Paul encourages
Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6 to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on
of my hands.”

So how do we keep our fires burning? Well, it seems to me that God gives us the fire freely as a
gift of grace and then our job is to recognize it as a precious gift, a treasure, an inheritance, and
to keep it burning by practicing the presence of God every day. This is our “smooring”: turning to
God, talking with God, listening for God’s voice, worshipping Him, thanking Him, opening up to
Him, obeying Him, loving Him. And if we pass these practices on to our children, the spiritual
fires God has given us may not go out for generations.

2 Timothy 1:6
Acts 11:23
2 Corinthians 4:6

This information in this devo came from the writings of Deborah Cronin in her book Holy
Ground, 1999, Upper Room Books.